Exclusive: NASA astronauts rescued from space return to Earth and give first interview on Fox News

After spending nine months aboard the International Space Station (ISS), veteran astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are finally back on Earth – and they opened up about their mission for the first time in an exclusive interview that aired Monday.

Sitting down with an interviewer at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, the duo reflected on their time in orbit, their reactions to learning they’d be staying longer than planned, the future of space exploration and what it means to serve their country in space.

“My first thought was we’ve just got to pivot,” Williams said, recalling the moment the duo learned their return would be delayed.

“If our spacecraft was going to go home based on decisions made here, and we were going to be up there ’til February, I was like, ‘Let’s make the best of it.'”

A little “excited” about the prospect of spending months in orbit, Williams enthused about her love for living in space – witnessing “scientific experiments” unfolding around them and seeing the changes made to the International Space Station since her last visit. 

“I’m honored to be a little part of it,” she added.

For Wilmore, his reaction focused on reminding himself that the mission was not about him or his feelings.

FOX NEWS TO AIR FIRST INTERVIEW WITH STRANDED ASTRONAUTS SINCE THEIR RETURN TO EARTH

“It’s about what this human spaceflight program is about. It’s our national goals,” he told Hemmer. 

“And I have to wrap… my mind around, what does our nation need out of me right now? That’s going back to when we’re in the fleet, and we’re operating from the pointy end of the spear… We’re an instrument of our nation, of our national goals. Did I think about not being there for my daughter’s high school year? Of course. But… we’ve trained them to be resilient, my daughters and my family.”

Wilmore continued, sharing that his family is forced to develop some resilience, an understanding that there’s no “given” when it comes to “test flights.”

“We don’t know what’s going to happen,” he continued. “We might not be back in eight days or whatever the plan was. Focus on that, focus on the mission. Certainly [we] deal with the personal side of it, but I can’t let that interfere with what I’m called to do at the moment.”

Wilmore and Williams spent over 280 days in space after their eight-day mission, which began last June, was derailed when their Boeing Starliner spacecraft encountered technical issues. 

STRANDED ASTRONAUTS PREPARE FOR LONG-AWAITED RETURN TO EARTH

NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were the flight crew on Boeing’s Starliner capsule and remained stranded in space for 286 days. (NASA)

NASA decided it was unsafe to send the astronauts back on the spacecraft, and it returned to Earth unmanned in September.

The duo told their interviewer they didn’t blame the manufacturer for the hiccup, with Wilmore calling spaceflight “hard.”

“This is new technology that we’re dealing with, so when you put all that together, it’s tough,” he said.

Williams, similarly, said she wouldn’t characterize the spacecraft’s issues as “failing” them. 

Wilmore disputed the narrative that he and Williams were “stranded” and “stuck,” telling their interviewer that everyone, including himself, was culpable to some extent.

“‘They’ failed you. Who? Who’s ‘they’?” he asked. “There are many questions that, as the commander of CFT, I didn’t ask, so I’m culpable… I’ll admit that to the nation. There’s things that I did not ask that I should have asked. I didn’t know at the time that I needed to ask them, but, in hindsight… some of the signals were there. Is the manufacturer to blame? Are they culpable? Sure. Is the agency to blame? Are they culpable? Sure. Everybody has a piece in this… There were some shortcomings in tests and shortcomings in preparations that we did not foresee.” 

Wilmore added that he doesn’t “want to point fingers” and instead wants to “look forward” and learn from past mistakes. 

A rescue mission, conducted by NASA and SpaceX earlier this month, helped bring the astronauts home on March 18.

The mission thrust SpaceX – and CEO Elon Musk – even further into the spotlight. Their interviewer asked Wilmore and Williams what they would like to say to Musk and President Donald Trump, who frequently called out the administration for allegedly not acting with urgency to bring them home sooner.

“I respect you, I trust you. You’ve given me no reason not to trust you, either one of them…” Wilmore replied.

“I am grateful that our national leaders actually are coming in and taking part in our human spaceflight program, which we see is hugely important global significance, and they take an active role. Based on the past and what we see now, with them doing that… it’s not just refreshing, it’s empowering. It’s strengthening, for our nation. I think it’s a good thing for our nation when the national leaders, especially something that’s high visibility, are involved in the process. I’m grateful for that.”

Williams echoed that sentiment, saying she is glad to see them “involved” and “taking notice.” She added that their nine-month orbit allowed a lot of people, including Musk and Trump, to see what is happening in space and “take it very seriously.”

“[It allows them to] understand that our involvement as a country, as a spacefaring nation, is really important throughout the world. It sets an example, and it shows our ability to be able to do the hard things, put people in space, operate in space, work in space, and then bring us back. It’s important, and I appreciate that,” she added.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts, including Wilmore and Williams, are slated to discuss their expedition during a postflight news conference at 2:30 p.m. EDT Monday, March 31, from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

A reporter contributed to this report.